Holothrips lafoae, Mound & Tree, 2014

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2014, Fungus-feeding phlaeothripine Thysanoptera in the genus Holothrips from Australia and New Caledonia, with a structurally similar new genus, Holoengythrips, Zootaxa 3860 (2), pp. 125-148 : 130-131

Holothrips lafoae sp. n.

( Figs 9 , 13 , 27, 32 )

Female macroptera. Body and legs brown, tarsi paler; antennal segment I brown, II paler at apex, III yellow but shaded in apical third, IV–VI yellow at base ( Fig. 27 ); tube dark brown; fore wings weakly shaded on basal third; major setae pale. Head slightly swollen behind large eyes, cheeks weakly concave before widening to posterior margin ( Fig. 9 ); dorsal surface extensively reticulate except in ocellar region; postocular setae long and acute, postocellar setae slightly longer than one hind ocellus; maxillary stylets with small loop within prothorax. Antennal segment VIII fused to VII with no visible suture. Pronotum transverse, weakly reticulate at posterior margin, with 5 pairs of slender pointed to weakly capitate major setae; fore tarsal tooth about half as long as tarsal width. Prosternal ferna not meeting medially; mesopresternum transverse; metathoracic sternopleural sutures long and slender. Mesonotal lateral setae small but capitate. Metanotum with no sculpture medially, median setae acute, anterior third with 2–4 minor setae. Fore wing uniformly broad, about 20 duplicated cilia; sub-basal setae S1 and S2 weakly capitate, S3 finely acute, arising almost in straight line. Pelta elongate with broad lateral wings, weakly reticulate ( Fig. 13 ); tergites II–VII with 2 pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae, both pairs small on VII, major setae long and pointed; tergite IX setae long and finely acute; tube slightly constricted beyond widened base, and more sharply constricted at apex.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 4300. Head, length 400; width behind eyes 300; postocular setae 200. Pronotum, length 230; width 450; major setae: am 85, aa 55, ml 175, epim 110, pa 210. Fore wing length 1500; sub-basal setae 75, 110, 150. Tergite IX setae: S1 280, iS 75, S2 330. Tube length 330. Antennal segments III–VI [VII–VIII] length 125, 125, 100, 90, [100].

Male macroptera. Similar to female in colour and structure, except, fore tarsal tooth almost as long as tarsal width, fore femora swollen, pronotum robust with strong median apodeme; sternites VI–VII with large areas of reticulate sculpture ( Fig. 32 ), tergite IX setae S2 stout.

Measurements (paratype male in microns). Body length 4100. Tergite IX setae S1 280, iS 55, S2 85.

Material studied. Holotype female macroptera, New Caledonia, La Foa, from dead Ocimum stems, 5.iv.2012 ( LAM 5557 ), in NCIRC.

Paratypes: 6 females, 2 males with larvae taken with holotype; Farino, 1 female, 7.x.2004, in NCIRC, ANIC and QDPC .

Comments. Using the key to species by Okajima (1987) this species runs only to celebensis amongst those species regarded as having a long mouth cone, but celebensis has dark brown antennae. From New Caledonia, two females and one male have been studied taken in a malaise Trap on Col d’Amiens in 2008. These specimens are similar to lafoae in colour and structure but much larger, with the postocellar setae about as long as the distance between the compound eyes.

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Holothrips from Australia. Heads: (1) australis; (2) bunyai sp.n.; (3) eurytis sp.n.; (4) federicae sp.n.; (5) circulus sp.n.; (6) frerei sp.n. (7) lamingtoni sp.n.; (8) notialis sp.n.; (9) lafoae sp.n.

FIGURES 10–16. Holothrips from Australia. Pterothorax and tergites I–II 10–12: (10) frerei sp.n.; (11) speciosissimus; (12) oceanicus. (13) lafoae sp.n., tergites I–II. Tergite IX and tube 14–16: (14) circulus sp.n.; (15) federicae sp.n.; (16) notialis sp.n.

FIGURES 25–33. Holothrips from Australia. Antenna 25–28: (25) bunyai sp.n.; (26) frerei sp.n.; (27) lafoae sp.n.; (28) lamingtoni sp.n. Mouth cone and thoracic sternites 29–30: (29) oceanicus; (30) speciosissimus. Male sternite VII 31–33: (31) australis; (32) lafoae sp.n.; (33) speciosissimus.